Surgeon General report says 5.6 million U.S. children will die =
prematurely=20
unless current smoking rates drop

Approximately 5.6 million American children alive today =E2=80=93 or =
one out of every=20
13 children under age 18 =E2=80=93 will die prematurely from =
smoking-related diseases=20
unless current smoking rates drop, according to a new Surgeon =
General=E2=80=99s=20
report.

Over the last 50 years, more than 20 million Americans have died from =
smoking. The new report concludes that cigarette smoking kills nearly =
half a=20
million Americans a year, with an additional 16 million suffering from=20
smoking-related conditions. It puts the price tag of smoking in this =
country at=20
more than $289 billion a year in direct medical care and other economic=20
costs.

Today=E2=80=99s report, The Health Consequences of =
Smoking=E2=80=9450 Years of Progress: A=20
Report of the Surgeon General, comes a half century after the =
historic 1964=20
Surgeon General=E2=80=99s report, which concluded that cigarette smoking =
causes lung=20
cancer. Since that time, smoking has been identified as a cause of =
serious=20
diseases of nearly all the body=E2=80=99s organs. Today, scientists add =
diabetes,=20
colorectal and liver cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, erectile dysfunction, =
age-related macular degeneration, and other conditions to the list of =
diseases=20
that cigarette smoking causes. In addition, the report concludes that =
secondhand=20
smoke exposure is now known to cause strokes in nonsmokers.

=E2=80=9CSmokers today have a greater risk of developing lung cancer =
than they did=20
when the first Surgeon General=E2=80=99s report was released in 1964, =
even though they=20
smoke fewer cigarettes,=E2=80=9D said Acting Surgeon General Boris =
Lushniak, M.D.,=20
M.P.H. =E2=80=9CHow cigarettes are made and the chemicals they contain =
have changed over=20
the years, and some of those changes may be a factor in higher lung =
cancer=20
risks. Of all forms of tobacco, cigarettes are the most deadly =E2=80=93 =
and cause=20
medical and financial burdens for millions of Americans.=E2=80=9D

Twenty years ago male smokers were about twice as likely as female =
smokers to=20
die early from smoking-related disease. The new report finds that women =
are now=20
dying at rates as high as men from many of these diseases, including =
lung=20
cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and heart disease. =
In=20
fact, death from COPD is now greater in women than in men.

=E2=80=9CToday, we=E2=80=99re asking Americans to join a sustained =
effort to make the next=20
generation a tobacco-free generation,=E2=80=9D said Health and Human =
Services Secretary=20
Kathleen Sebelius. =E2=80=9CThis is not something the federal government =
can do alone.=20
We need to partner with the business community, local elected officials, =
schools=20
and universities, the medical community, the faith community, and =
committed=20
citizens in communities across the country to make the next generation =
tobacco=20
free.=E2=80=9D

Although youth smoking rates declined by half between 1997 and 2011, =
each day=20
another 3,200 children under age 18 smoke their first cigarette, and =
another=20
2,100 youth and young adults become daily smokers. Every adult who dies=20
prematurely from smoking is replaced by two youth and young adult =
smokers.

The report concludes that the tobacco industry started and sustained =
this=20
epidemic using aggressive marketing strategies to deliberately mislead =
the=20
public about the harms of smoking. The evidence in the report emphasizes =
the=20
need to accelerate and sustain successful tobacco control efforts that =
have been=20
underway for decades.

=E2=80=9COver the last 50 years tobacco control efforts have saved 8 =
million lives=20
but the job is far from over,=E2=80=9D said HHS Assistant Secretary for =
Health Howard K.=20
Koh, M.D., M.P.H. =E2=80=9CThis report provides the impetus to =
accelerate public health=20
and clinical strategies to drop overall smoking rates to less than 10% =
in the=20
next decade. Our nation is now at a crossroads, and we must choose to =
end the=20
tobacco epidemic once and for all.=E2=80=9D

The Obama Administration=E2=80=99s ongoing efforts to end the tobacco =
epidemic=20
include enactment of the landmark Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco =
Control=20
Act, which gives FDA regulatory authority over tobacco products; =
significant=20
expansion of tobacco cessation coverage through the Affordable Care Act =
to help=20
encourage and support quitting; new Affordable Care Act investments in =
tobacco=20
prevention campaigns like the =E2=80=9CTips from Former Smokers=E2=80=9D =
campaign to raise=20
awareness of the long-term health effects of smoking and encourage =
quitting; and=20
increases in the cost of cigarettes resulting from the federal excise =
tax=20
increase in the Children=E2=80=99s Health Insurance Program =
Reauthorization Act.

To help communicate the report findings as widely as possible, the =
Surgeon=20
General unveiled an

easy-to-read consumer guide with practical information on tobacco use =
and a=20
30-second public service announcement video.